Maternity Leave
by psc07
Summary: Lily was seven months pregnant when she stopped going on missions for the Order – and not because of her own wishes.


Lily was seven months pregnant when she stopped going on missions for the Order – and not because of her own wishes.

She had never liked to skip her obligations – she was not the type of child to pretend illness as a way to avoid school. In Hogwarts, if she were feeling unwell, she would immediately run to the Hospital Wing for some help, or, when she developed the ability to, she made her own potions.

She had seen James Potter pretending to be sick more than a handful of times to escape from a particularly boring Potions lesson, or on the day before of an important Quidditch game.

So when she first started feeling nauseous, her immediate reflex was to grab a potion and go to the Order headquarters. She was used to having a cold at least twice a year, and hated every second of it.

"Honestly, Evans," James told her, as they walked hand-in-hand to the meeting (although they had been married for a year, he still called her 'Evans' sometimes), "it's only reports. You don't look so well. Should've stayed home."

"Just a bit of nausea. It's alright, love. Probably just a stupid cold." She replied, smiling.

James knew how much she liked to play hard, as to not appear 'weak'. And he knew his wife long enough to know exactly when she was really unwell.

"Maybe we could ask McKinnon to perform a spell?" James suggested, but Lily shook her head. Marlene McKinnon worked on St. Mungus.

"I've taken my potion already. I'll be better in a few."

However, she did not get better. In fact, Remus was in the midst of his report when Lily excused herself and ran off to the bathroom. James frowned, and after a nod from Dumbledore, ran after her.

"'S nothing, James. Get back there."

"You threw up?" He asked, worry showing in his voice and face. She smiled at him, and he kneeled down at her side.

"Yeah, probably ate something bad…"

"But I'm feeling perfectly fine." He argued. Lily rolled her eyes.

"For now. Besides, I ate some muggle snacks yesterday when you were out with the boys. Could be it."

This suspicion was proved false when the same happened the next week.

"Potter, is Lily alright?" Minerva asked him one meeting, after the girl had again thrown up. James frowned.

"She says she only feels sick in the mornings… but I convinced her to seek help." He replied. "She doesn't like hospitals."

Minerva and Marlene, who had been listening too, looked at each other, the latter opening a knowing smile that made James squirm.

"When is she going to Mungus? Maybe I'll see her." Marlene asked. James shook his head.

"She says Mungus is full enough without her being there for a stupid cold. She's going to a muggle hospital."

Marlene grinned.

"Good. There she is!" She exclaimed. James looked back, and Lily was, indeed, returning to the hall.

"Are you alright, love?" He asked, stroking her face lightly. She smiled.

"Yes, it gets better eventually. It's just a bit of morning sickness. Nothing to worry about." Lily replied. Marlene smirked.

"For now. We'll see in a few months." Marlene replied, and went back to the main room with Minerva, leaving a confused young couple behind.

"Well, I'd better go or I'll be late for Dr. Templeman. Bye, love. Don't go too wild." Lily said, grinning. James gasped.

"As if I'd ever do something of the sort." He replied, getting a giggle out of her. "You certain you don't want me to come with you? We can pretend I'm mute so I won't break the Secrecy Statute."

"Yeah, I just need a check up. Haven't gone to a doctor in a long time. Don't worry and have fun with the lads."

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said, so I'll just let you go."

She giggled again and he kissed her, muttering an 'I love you' against her smiling lips.

After another bureaucratic meeting, James headed to a muggle pub with Sirius, Remus and Peter for their weekly Lads Night. Sirius made an extra effort to take James's mind out of Lily and her illness, which resulted in more alcohol consumption than the usual and some tardiness on James's part.

It was almost midnight when Sirius apparated James back to the Potter Manor. They immediately noticed that the living room light was on.

"That's odd," James said, sobering up rather quickly "You told her I'd be back later, and she said ok, didn't she?"

"Yeah. Mind you, she seemed distracted, but she told me I could keep you out as long as necessary. Maybe she's just waiting for you?" Sirius suggested.

"No, she waits either on our bedroom or in the library. I'd better get inside. Maybe she's actually truly pissed with the time."

When he entered the living room, his greeting stopped at his mouth, for Lily was crying silently on the couch, holding a very odd black and white image.

"Hey, love, it's alright, don't cry…" James said, holding her and wiping her tears away. "What's wrong? Did someone…?"

In war times, when one gets back home to find their partner crying, it usually means someone has died. Lily quickly shook her head.

"No, no. No one died," she replied after a couple seconds, then cleared her throat, "quite the opposite, actually."

"The opposite? Everyone's alive, then?" James asked confused.

"Yeah, everyone's alive."

"Then what's the problem? What do you mean 'the opposite'?"

There are some moments in life people will remember for as long as they live (and as both you and I know, this was not a very long time for James and Lily). The way Lily's lips trembled and a single tear escaped from her green eyes before she spoke was on the list of things James would remember forever.

"I'm pregnant, James."

His only possible reaction was gaping.

"You're what?!"

"Pregnant. As in, we'll have a child."

"But… the war." James mumbled. Lily let out a few more tears.

"I know that." Oh, and how she knew that! She had spent every second since she received the news from her family doctor thinking about raising a kid during this horrible war.

"But you were taking the potion." He argued, as if this fact would make Lily un-pregnant.

"Yes, but… I bought it last month, because I couldn't find the ingredients."

He went silent for a minute.

"I'm sorry, James!" Lily sobbed, "I'm already a liability in your life, and now I give you another liability, another reason for you to put your life in risk. I'm so, so sorry!"

James raised her face.

"Stop it, Lil. First of all, it's not your fault. At least, not _all_ your fault. It's a bit on me too. Unless you've got something to tell me…" He joked lightly, and she managed to roll her eyes. "Second, never think of yourself as a liability. I'm a liability to myself. I'd do everything I do now, even if I didn't had you. You're not a liability – you're the very happiness in my life. And now you've given me another reason to be happy. Another little one to love."

If James's intention was to make Lily stop crying, he failed spectacularly, for she only cried harder.

"Bu-but the war!" Lily finally stammered.

"It'll be hard. I'm not a fool to think otherwise. But we can do it. If I happen to love this lil fella a tenth of how much I love you, he'll be the most loved war child to grace this planet."

The way James smiled that special smile – the one that lit up his whole face, the one he reserved just for her – and touched her belly would be a moment Lily would keep in her mind until her death.

The following day, both of them arrived at the headquarters grinning like loons. Marlene hugged Lily as soon as they saw each other, grinning too.

"Oh, Lily, you seem better." Dumbledore greeted her smiling.

"I am, professor, thank you." She replied. Minerva approached the group, followed closely by the three remaining Marauders.

"So was Prongs in as much trouble we expected?" Sirius asked smirking. James rolled his eyes, and took from the pocket of his robes the odd image Lily had held the previous night. "Er, what is this, exactly?"

"You see this little white thing that looks like a bean?" James asked (Lily had taught him to recognise their child on the ultrasound her doctor had performed).

"Yeah…" Sirius replied, confused.

"This is your godson. Or goddaughter, we don't know the sex yet." James explained, positively beaming. Sirius frowned, then looked at his best mate's wife with a wild grin.

"You're pregnant?!" He yelled. After Lily's confirmation, there were many hugs, congratulatory words and wishes of happiness, followed by many questions, which had to be stopped due to Lily still getting morning sickness.

Everyone in the Order was excited about the new Potter kid, and no one seemed to think it to be a bad idea.

They all loved to hear the monthly news regarding their mascot. They celebrated when Lily's sickness stopped. They cheered with the couple when they heard it would be a boy. They got emotional when Lily explained why they settled with 'Harry James Potter'.

And most of all, they all worried with James when Lily and her protuberant belly went on missions.

They tried to tell her that it was not a question of mistrusting her, but a question of worrying about little Harry. Although she always won the duels, pregnant women are not supposed to be found in dark alleys fighting off two rather confused Death Eaters (to be fair, pregnant women are not supposed to be found fighting off _anyone_ ).

Lily, however, was having none of it. She just bought bigger clothes and rubbed her belly after the fights, murmuring quietly to herself that Harry would be hell of a fighter.

The day before the 7th month consult, Lily arrived at the Headquarters from a mission, sat down besides James and put her feet on his lap.

"Well, it's official. This kid really is yours." She said, laying back her head and closing her eyes. James smirked lightly and cleaned a cut on the corner of her mouth.

"I wasn't aware there was a doubt on that matter, love."

"Hum, poor thing. Not anymore, if it makes you feel better. Only your child would find it remotely funny to make my feet so bloody big." She said, with a sigh. "Not that I can actually see them, anyway. I just have a general notion that they are approximately 23 times their original size."

James tried not to laugh, but he failed.

"It's alright, tho. Means he'll be as big as you. At least he won't be stuck at my size."

"Actually, Lil, I think it means it's time to stop." He replied in a quiet voice, after a few moments.

"What, stop him from growing? Ha, good luck with that one. Already tried, he replied by swiftly kicking my hand." Again, James could not hold back a chuckle.

"No, woman! It's time for you to stop going on missions." He said. She looked at him.

"Don't talk nonsense, James. I'm perfectly fine to go on missions."

"Lil, I don't mean you're less capable. It's just… you said yourself, you can barely see your feet. How can you run like that? It's too dangerous."

"I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for this, James."

"Lily, it's not only dangerous for you, which already has me torn. It's dangerous for Harry. This much activity can't possibly be good to a baby."

"Bullshit, James Potter. No one agrees with you!"

"Actually, Lily, we all agree with James." Dumbledore said. Lily sat down upon his entrance. Minerva came right behind him.

"What, you all think I can't handle it?"

"We're more than aware you can handle it, Evans," James replied instead, "I've been the subject of this for seven years. We just worry about Harry."

"James is quite correct, Lily," Dumbledore said, a gentle smile gracing his face, "We don't want you out of the Order – you can still plan and held. We'd just be able to sleep better knowing we didn't risk the life of a not yet born child."

"Losing you would be terrible enough for me," James murmured, looking straight at her eyes, "but losing you both would kill me inside."

Lily sighed.

"You won't lose me, James. Nothing's gonna happen. Harry's only seven months. I'll stop when he's nine."

But as I said before, she stopped field work when little Harry was seven months, for when she went to her doctor, he advised her to be at bed rest and do minimal efforts. It was time for her maternity leave to begin.

Of course, she hated every second of it. Her participation on the Order consisted of potion-making and strategic planning. She loved both, but being in the field was her passion. They had taken James from working on the Headquarters and put him to do some of Lily's field work.

This resulted in her waiting on the sofa (her new preferred waiting spot) almost every night, grumbling about unfairness of jobs as soon as her husband arrived and took her to their bed.

The complaining only came to an end one night James arrived particularly late, and Harry was already mixing up her sleep schedule, resulting her to fall asleep on the couch.

When she woke up, she found James sitting on the floor, resting his head against the couch, speaking to himself.

Then she understood: he was talking to Harry.

"… and yes, your mother can be very stubborn, but she really loves you. She only kept going on missions because she wants a better world for you, Harry. Just like me. We'll make it a better place for you to live in. We already love you so much…"

Lily smiled, a warm feeling spreading through her heart – a feeling of hope that everything would end up just fine for her family.

A feeling of hope ignorant to the interview for the post of Divination teacher at Hogwarts that had taken place at the Hog's Head a few hours before.


End file.
